Why did the rates have to be raised?

Like many other cities, Sandy’s wastewater infrastructure is aging and there is limited funding available to make improvements.  Our existing system is no longer able to reliably meet federal and state requirements that protect local streams and rivers, and our growing community is adding additional demand to a system under increasing strain.  Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is requiring the City to address these problems as soon as possible.

The sewer rate increases, which went into effect in January 2020, are necessary to help pay for immediate upgrades and investments to comply with state regulations, improve and repair our aging treatment plant, fix our leaky sewage collection system, and add needed capacity.  Learn more about the Wastewater System Improvements.